[OpenIndiana-discuss] paging any HP xw8600 users.. or knowledgeable others

[Michael Hase]

On Mon, 11 Aug 2014, Alex Smith (K4RNT) wrote:

> It'll provide an SFF8087 connector, which you can get a breakout cable
> which can branch out to attach to individual disks, or you can get a
> backplane of some kind which might have an SFF8087 connection as well. In
> that case, a straight cable would suffice. Most HBAs of this type will have
> a multilane connector, versus individual SATA ports, since the SAS disk
> support requires a slightly different connector on the cable.

Yes, or simply use a cheap lsi 1064 pci-e controller. This is exactly the 
same type as used for the onboard sas ports in the xw8400/xw8600 boxes. It 
has 4 separate sas ports for use with standard sata cables. 3 gbit/sec 
per port is only a limitation for the most modern ssds.

Michael

>
> " 'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the
> first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all
> irrevocably.' Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie as wisdom and
> warning... The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we’re all
> damaged." - Jean-Luc Picard, quoting Judge Aaron Satie, Star Trek: TNG
> episode "The Drumhead"
> - Alex Smith
> - Huntsville, Alabama metropolitan area USA
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 5:25 AM, Harry Putnam <reader at newsguy.com> wrote:
>
>> Bryan N Iotti <ironsides.medvet at runbox.com> writes:
>>
>> > Hi,
>> >
>> > It's a must (that I know of) only on LSI controllers because
>> > otherwise performance on ZFS suffers quite a lot.
>> >
>> > Other controllers have different quirks, like some adaptecs needing
>> > a debug flag passed to enable HBA mode.
>> >
>> > The IR to IT flash is easy. You need a pendrive with FreeDOS bootable
>> > and the firmware from LSI. They have pretty decent instructions on
>> > their website and you should be able to perform the whole procedure in
>> > less than 30 minutes.
>> >
>>
>> [...]
>>
>> Bob Friesenhahn <bfriesen at simple.dallas.tx.us> writes:
>>
>> > On Sun, 10 Aug 2014, Harry Putnam wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> I also would suggest an add-on controller, with the caveat that you
>> >>> should remember to flash in IT mode and not RAID/IR.
>> >>
>> >> Would that flash step be necessary with most any add on Controler?
>> >
>> > No.  It depends on the model number that you order.  Models called an
>> > "HBA" are likely delivered in IT mode.
>>
>> Re-iterating the basic hardware involved:
>> HP xw8600 with 2x CPU 5470 3.33Ghz and 32 GB of RAM
>>
>> Is this the kind of thing folks are thinking of when suggesting a SAS
>> card:
>>
>> (not sure what mail encoding might do, but this should be all one line)
>>
>>
>> http://www.serversdirect.com/Components/RAID__HBAs/id-DC7125/LSI_SAS_HBA_9211-4i?gclid=Cj0KEQjwsJyfBRC729Oy5Pf26ekBEiQAYtd9QR6E11DYPDk3igwN6YRQhEptdXPnYXPOGVopqtjurmMaAnCq8P8HAQ
>>
>> Can anyone offer a clue what the marketers of this device might be
>> talking about under Marketing Information:
>>
>>    The LSI SAS 9211-4i host bus adapter provides the greatest
>>    available throughput to internal server storage arrays through four
>>    internal 6Gb/s ports, driving up to 256 SAS and SATA physical
>>    devices. This HBA offers dynamic SAS functionality including
>>    dual-port drive redundancy and SATA compatibility. Utilizing one
>>    internal x4 SFF8087 Mini-SAS connector, the low-profile SAS 9211-4i
>>    is an excellent fit for 1U and 2U servers.
>>
>> I'm pretty confused about the write up...
>>
>> The bit about "driving up to 256 SAS and SATA physical devices", in
>> particular
>>
>> Am I right in thinking this would add 4 internal SAS/SATA ports? Or
>> is this something else entirely?
>> -------       -------       ---=---       -------       -------
>>
>> Is the big brother of the above device more appropriate?
>>
>>
>> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?gclid=Cj0KEQjwsJyfBRC729Oy5Pf26ekBEiQAYtd9QSnU5Y0ObEPMFYeXsJhx8rT4KCwHypodSscs5OAWwqcaAjN78P8HAQ&Item=N82E16816118133&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Controllers+%2f+RAID+Cards-_-N82E16816118133&ef_id=U9g1pQAABU0QZGhN:20140810220043:s
>>
>> Or am I missing the ball altogether?
>>
>>
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